Tire vulcanizing machine



April 11, 1933. KK, A. THoRsl-:N `1,903,538

TIRE VULCANIZING MACHINE ATTORNEY April 11, 1933- K. K. A. THORSEN TIREVULCANIZING MACHINE Filed Oct. 29, 1928 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 IN V EN TOR.I1. ICA. Tloks EN ATTRNEY Patented Apr. 11, 1933 Y l UNITED STATESPATENT. ovrrprceyf, A

mi. KQA, THORSEN, or SAN FRANCISCO, oALIronNra H TIRE vULoAIsrIzINolMACHINE Application filed October 29, 1928. Serial` No. 315,628.

This invention resides in the provision of a comparatively simple andinexpensive Amachine for vulcanizing the Casin-gs of pneumatic tires,said machine as one unit, being so constructed and arranged that it maybe used for the original curing of tire casings or for curing retreadson old casings, it being Y possible to carry out both operations at thesame time with the one machine, or to use if@ the machine for either ofsaid purposes.

vide a vulcanizing mold of' thecharacter deyscribed which, by a simplechange in the arrangement of parts thereof, will 4confine the heat tothe tread portion only of the tire, or cause heat to be applied to theentire casing,

` r' n I 2') dependent' on whether an original cure or a retread cure isrequired.

A further ob] ect is to pro l"de a vulcanizing machine of the characterdescribed which includes a novel and eliicient means for locking themold sections in operative position and for moving said section into andout of operative position. f

The vulcanizing machinevoi this invention will cure or vulcanize theentire tread in one operation and may also be used Jor the original curein the making of new tires, and therefore said machine will take theplace of several machines such as now generally used in tire repairshops, and will provide for quicker and cheaper repair operations upon atire than is possible with sectional mold devices. The machine ofv thisinvention in having a greater capacity for repair' work and in beingcapable of use for curing new tires, can be built and operated at acomparatively low cost and employed with greater efficiency than theapparatus now generally employed and which usually comprises severalmachines.

With the above mentioned and other objects in view, the inventionconsists in the novel construction .and combination otparts hereinafterdescribed, illustratedfin the accompanylngA drawings', and set forth inthe claims hereto appended, it beingV understood that various chan-gesin the vform,yproportion, sizea-nd minor detail-s of construction Withinthe scope of the claims ymay-be resort# ed to without departing from thespirit or sacriiicing any of the advantages of the in- 00 ventifon. s

Referring to the drawings Y Fig. I represents a top-plan view of themachine'oi my invention4 with the molds Open' l. Y v )i i, y Fig. 2represents a4 side. elevation of they machine 'as when closed. y' Y Y' IFig'. 3 represents` a vertical sectionalviewV taken on the plane of line3 3 ofi Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is an end elevation of Vthe machine. '$0

Fig. 5 represents a vertical sectionalview taken on the plane of line 55- of Fig. 2, said section being broken away and enlarged..

Fig; 6I represents aftopplan view of one of the matrix rings'. 0 y r A yFig. 7. represents a top plan viewfofV the 'y sectipn-al die for forminga design in the trea l Fig. 8- represents a top plan view of one of theelements 'employed when the device @0 is used for the original curing ofanew tire casing.

Fig. 9 represents a sectional Vview takenV on the plane of line 9-,9` ofFig... 8.,showing the manner of setting in a stamping die for applyingindicia to the tire: during the curing operation.. Y v l* The embodimentof' thisv invention illustra-ted in detail. in the accompanying`drawings includes a stand 1 adaptedto besuit- 90 ably mounted upon.aftlroor or other support and which supports a; steam generating de-`vice including av boiler2and a burner A mold block 4 in theiorm of a;generally circular casting, is` supported onY the stand 1, 95

and is provided with a; large circular mold recess 5, opening on. onesideio .the yblockl and with a similar but smaller mol-d recess 6,yopeningen the other side of the block,

there being a partition 7 separatingthe `said flo i sociated elementsbeing contained in the mold spaces and held therein between the moldsections 8 and 8 and the partition 7. -By having the mold sections 5 and6 of 'different sizes, provision is made for treating tiresof varioussizes. Y

-v The portionof mold body surrounding the circular mold space 5 is Vprovided with an annularsteam jacket 10." Pipes 11 and 12 having valves13 and '14 therein lead from the boiler 2 to spaced points on the body,where said pipes are communicated as at 15 with said steam jacket 10. Asimilar jacket Y16 is'provided in the annularportion of the body whichsurrounds the mold space 6 and is connected with the boiler 2 by valvedpipes 17. These jackets are arranged so that the heat will be applied tothe' tread portions only of the tire to be treat-ed. The partition 7 isprovided-with an :annular steam jacket 18,

the heat from which is adapted `tp bey applied to the-sides of the tire.This v'j acket 18 is annular and surrounds'a central opening 19in thepartition 7 Steam is supplied tov the partition jacket 18 through pipes19 having valves 20 therein.

The hinged mold sections 8 and 9 are provided with annular steam jackets20 near their outer perimeters, which jackets are adapted to apply .heatto the matrices in conjunction with the jackets 10 and 16.' vThesections-Sand 9 are also provided with larger annular jackets 21 spacedinwardly from the jacket 20. Steam is supplied to the jackets 20' byflexible pipes 22 which are connected with the jackets 10 and jackets 20respectively. Steam is supplied to the jackets 21 from the jackets 20 bythe pipes 23having valves 24 therein. In the case of retread- 5b ingwork,.the valves 24 are closed to prevent steam fromv entering thejackets 21,4 which as aforestated, are used only when anv orig inalcuring operationis carried out.` The 'sections 8 and 9 are kidenticallyconstructed and each is provided with a pair of laterally-'extendingarms -26 projecting from onefside thereof, which arms are rotatable' on"the terminals of a vertical shaft 27, which shaftisv supported -by apair of U-shaped guides 28 and 29. These guides are slidably mounted,one above the f other. in a lateral eX- tensionj30 on the block 4. Theseguides 28 and 29 providefora bodily sliding movement of the mold sectionas well as ahing movement thereof, and thereby permit of an easy andquickplacing and removal of tires and matrices relative to the mold, aswell as provide a rigid, durable joint structure between the stationaryand movable mold parts.

The sections 7 and 8 are caused to slide bodily on the guides 28 and 29upon manipulation of special means for readily bringing about suchsliding movement. 1 This -means is the same for each'section and in thesection 8 is as follows. A hand wheel 31 is mounted in a central opening32 of the section 8 and a part 33 of the hand'wheel, bears upon a spider34 provided in the center of said opening 32. Fixed to the'part 33 ofthe hand wheel is a `flanged screw threaded collar 35, which ro- I tatesin an opening 36 in said spider, the opening having a; shoulder 37 tocooperate with the flange of the sleeve, whereby the sleeve is rotatablyanchored in the spider. A screw 38'is fixed vto a spider 39 provided'inthe opening 19 and one half of the screw eX- tends for cooperation with.the mechanism of the mold section 9, whereas the other half eX- tendsout for cooperation with the mechanism of the section 8. This portionofthe screw extends through the opening in the spider 34, through thescrew threadedpopening in the sleeve 35 and an opening 39 in the handwheel portion 33. On turning the hand wheel as in unscrewingl it, whenthel section 8 is in operative position` saidsection-will be bodily9,which means comprises a plurality of screws 40 extending throughthreaded open-" 'ings '41, in annular members 42 carried on saidsections and projecting radially from said annular members'. Beveled.locking blocks 43 are carried on the outer ends of said screws and areadapted to engage in openings 44 provided in lugs 45 disposed onopposite sides of the body block 4. The inner ends of the screws 40 havegears 46 fiXed thereto, which gears mesh with ring gears 47rotatablymounted on the inner sides of said annular portions 42. Handrings or wheels 48 are fixed to and provide for rotation of said ringgears` The locking blocks may be moved into land out of locking positionon rotation of said handV wheels 48.

The mold spaces 5 and are adapted to receive a sectional matrix49 madeup of an inner annular section 50 and intermediate' annular section 51,and anouter annular section 52 which sections have curved complementaryfaces to conform to the curvature of the tread of a tire.

These matrix sections closely engage with the metal of the block andhinge mold sections so as to effectively transmit heatto the tire. Theinner section 50 is' held in place by screws 53 having-.hand wheels 54ontheir outer ends, said `screws extending through openings 55 inthelmold block radially into' the mold spaces and are turned inl threadedopenings 56 provided in theinner ring. Another set of screws 57 havinghand wheels 58 on their outer ends extend through the hinged sections `8`and@ and are turned in screw'threaded openings 60. provided in saidmatrix sections. The matrix carries a tread design die member 61 made upof fourarcuate sections or segments'having co-acting beveled faces62,These sections Yare curved in cross section and each is divided intothree parts, or in other words, the die 61 is made up of four segments,each segment consisting of three arcuate pieces.` These pieces aresupported on the matrix blocks 50, 51 and 52 as particularly shown inFig. 5.v The screws 53 are adapted to be received in openings 63provided in the inner sectionr64 of said die 61. Screws 65 serve to holdthe intermediate die section 66 on the intermediate 'matrix section andin position to cooperate tional construction of the matrix and of thedie 61`provides an easier and more expeditious assembling anddisassembling of Ythese structures. On unscrewing the screws 55 andwithdrawing them from the inner matrix section, the entire matrixassembly may be withdrawn with the hinged mold section, inasmuch as saidmatrix sections are then held together by the screws 57 which arecarried by the hinged sections. To prevent heat from the mold devicefrom being applied to the side walls of the tire beyond the tread, Iemploy two annular insulating membersrdesignated 70 and 71, and adaptedto be contained in each of the mold spaces 5 and 6. rlhe annular members70'l areV in the nature of metal plates having a lining of asbestos orother material having poor heat conducting qualities. These innersections are held against the partition 7, by meansofrscrews 71 and thesides of the tir-e engage the asbestos lining. The other members 71similarly constructed, are mounted on the inner faces of the moldsections 8 and 9, being held in'place by screws 72'so that the asbestoslinings thereof, will engage the opposite sides ofthe tire casing. Asplit rim 73- having overlapping portions fisfmounted in the tire asshown in Fig. 5 so as to support a suitable air bag 74, which bagisemployed to hold the tire casing distended and firmly place and then thematrix is assembled in place withthe die6'1 thereof, the screwsl 53being turned in place tojhold the inner Vannular section of the matrixin position. Next `the tire lcasing A is put into-place,4 with the airbag and, rim 37 mounted thereon. Fcllowing this the hand wheel V31 isturned to secure the hinged section'8 or 9, as the case may be,into.telescopicrelationto the mold spaced therefor, said hand wheelbeing tightened so as to compress the matrix sections together intoclose relation. `Next the screws 57 are turned in place to hold thematrix sections assembled and the operator then manipulates thehand'wheel 48 and causes the screws 40 to be moved outwardly andk toextend the locking blocks 43 into the openings 44 therefor, in order tolock the mold sections together. The air bag is then inserted4 andtheapparatus is `then ready for a curing operation.

Assuming that two tires are mounted in the same device, after the mannerabove explained, steam is then admitted into the jackets 10, 16, 18 and20. The heat will be transmitted through the matrices and assoi- Vciatedparts, so that a curing operation will take place over therequiredperiodof time.

In the event of using the mold for original curing of a new tire, theprotecting'plates 7 O and 71 are removed soithat the heat will betransmitted to the entire casing, and in addition the valves 24 are:opened so vas to allow steam toV enter the said jackets'21 inthe hingedsections 8 and E91 The same matrix and tread designidie devices areused, but instead of the air bag and rim for supporting it, I employ twoangular plates vwhich are adapted to overlap to provide an annularrim tosupport the casing to be cured. The sides of these annular members areshapedl as at 81 to provide for formation of the beads on the casing.Thesev plates engage against the sides of the mold cavity in: the samemanner i as do the plates 7 O and 71, beingheld in place by screws 82.To provide for a smooth supporting surface, a ring 83 is employed, saidringbeing applied and lying as shown in Fig.. 3, between the twosections or plates, so Y c as to support oneof the edges of the tirecasing. By this arrangement, curing heat is appliedto the entirecash-ig. The sectional construction of the supporting rim makes possiblean easy assembling and disassembling thereof.r

' The telescopic fit of the mold sections permits of their adjustment toaccommodate tires of different sizes and obviously the matrices employedare of a different size to .correspond to the tire being treated.

In taking down the structure after a curing operation the screws 58 areunscrewed and this frees the movable and hinge sections so that onturning the hand wheel 3l in the proper direction, the movablesection orsections will be forced outward clear of the tire. When the screwthreaded sleeve has been movedclear of the screw 38, the movablevsection is spaced outward a considerable distance from the stationarypart of the mold, having been slidably supported by the U- shaped guides28, which slide freely with said movable section. The movable sectionmemberV then maybe swung on its hinge connec- Vtion with the guide, intoposition shown in Fig. y1, so that ready accessmay be had to the tire.The sectional construction of the matrix and the manner of securing thematrix sections in place, will permit of a varied operation in takingdown the structure to best suit the operator.

'It will be noted that the members 80 may be provided with recesses 84Cadapted to con tain a size marking die 85 which will impress the sizeindicating numerals on the sides of the tire which is being cured.

I'claim:

'1. A tire vulcanizing machine comprising a body member having wallstherein defining tire receiving recesses on oppositeV sides thereof andpartition portions separating said recesses, said body member havingheating jackets in the walls defining said recesses,

l*said partition having an annular heating jacket therein, mold sectionshingedly and bodily slidably connected with said body member andarranged to extend into the tire receiving recesses, and means formoving said mold sections bodily towards and away from said tirereceiving recesses; a threaded shaft secured to the partition portionsand arranged in alignment with the axes of the recesses in the bodymember and mold sections; and threaded means rotatably mounted on themold sections to engage the threaded shaft to lock the mold sectionsinto the recesses in the body members during the vulcanizing operation.

2. A tire vulcani/'zing machine comprising a body member having kwallstherein defin ing tire receiving recesses on opposite sides thereof andpartition portions separating said recesses, said body member havingheat ing jackets in the walls defining said recesses, said partitionhaving an annular heat- 'ing jacket therein, mold sections hingedly and.to said body members.

5. A vulcanizing machine ycomprising al` bodily slidably connected withsaid body member and arranged to extend into the tire lreceivingrecesses, means for moving said mold sections bodily towards and awayfrom said tire receiving recesses; a Ithreaded shaft secured to thepartition portions and arranged in alignment with the axes of therecesses in the body member and mold sections; and threaded meansrotatably mounted on the mold sections to engage the threaded shaft tolockl the mold sections intoy the re- Y and arranged to extend .intosaid recess, which mold member is provided with a heat-V ing jacket, ascrew threaded member secured to said body member, a screw threadedcollar movableon said threaded member, and being rotatably secured tosaid mold member, and a hand wheel connected with and for turning saidcollar.

4. A vulcanizing machine comprising a body member having walls thereindefining a. tire receiving recess therein and having a heating yjacketin the walls dening said recess, al mold member hingedly and bodilyslidably connected with said' body Vmember and arranged to extend intosaid recess, which mold member is provided with 5a` heating jacket, ascrew threaded member secured to said body member, a screw threadedcollar c movable on said threaded member, and being rotatably secured tosaid mold member, a hand wheel connected with Vand for turning saidconan-locking blocks carried by said mold members, and means for movingsaid blocks into and out of locking relation body member having wallstherein defining a. tire receiving recess therein andy having a heatingjacket in the walls definingsaid recess, a mold member hingedly andbodi-Y ly slidably connected with said body member and arranged toextend into said recess, which mold member isprovided with a heatingjacket, a screw threaded'member secured to said body member, a screwthreaded collar movable on said threaded member, and being rotatablysecured to said mold member, a hand wheel connected withand for turningsaid collar, locking blocks carried by said mold members, means formoving said blocks into and out of'locking relation to said bodymembers, a sectional Vmatrix 2removably mountedvin said mold space, andremovable fastening elements for said matrix carried by said body memberand said mold members.

6. A vulcanizing machine comprising a body member having Walls defininga circular tire receiving'recess therein and provided with a heatingchamber which is adjacent to and surrounds the walls deiining saidrecess, also a circular heating chamber which is adjacent to that partof the recess against which a side Wall of the tire will rest, acircular mold member adapted to be received in said recess against theouter side of a tire contained in said recess, which mold member hascircular heating chambers therein, and plates of heat insulatingmaterial removably mounted on the portions of the body member and moldmember, which portions would ordinarily engage thesides of the tirecasing and coacting means arranged in alignment with the axis of therecess in the body member and of the mold member to lock the moldsection into the body member recess during the vulcanizing operation.

7. A tire vulcanizing machine comprising a body member having wallstherein defining tire receiving recesses on opposite sides thereof andpartition portions separating said recesses, said body member havingheating jackets in the walls defining saidrecesses, said partitionhaving an annular heating jacket therein, mold sections related to saidbody member and arranged to extend into the tire receiving recesses,means for moving said mold sections bodily towards and away from saidtire; a threaded shaft secured to the partition portions and arranged inalignment with the axes of the recessesin the body member and moldsections; and threaded means rotatably mounted on the mold sections toengage the threaded shaft to lock the mold sections into the recesses inthe body members during the vulcanizing operation,

8. A vulcanizing machine comprising a body member having walls thereindefining a tire receiving recess thereinl and'having a heating jacket inthe walls defining said recess, a mold member bodily slidably connectedwith said body member and arranged to extend into said recess, whichmold member is provided with a heating acket, a screw threaded membersecured to said body member, a screw threaded collar movable on saidthreaded member and being rotatably secured to said mold member; and ahand wheel connected with and for turning said collar.

9. The combination with a vulcanizer machine including a stationary bodyhaving a cavity on a side thereof, a movable mold plate telescoping intosaid cavity, and means to convey heat to the section and the plate, of asectional matrix formed of a plurality of complemental ring-likesections, a group of the sections being replaceably secured into saidcavity, and the other group of complemental matrix rings beingreplaceably mounted on the plate, and means to fasten the mold plateonto. sai-d bodyso: as to introduce the plate -iny the said-'cavitytoany selected depth.

10. The combination with 'a vulcanizer machineincludi'ng a stationarybody havingfaA cavity on a side thereof, a movable Vmold platetelescop'ing into said cavity, means to convey heat to the body andtothe plate, of a sectional matrix formed of a plurality of complementalring-like sections, a group of the sections being replaceably securedinto said cavity, and the other group of complemental matrix rings beingreplaceably mounted on the plate, a

telescoping into said cavity, means to `convey heatto the body and tothe plate, of a sectional matrix formed of a "plurality of complementalring-like sections, a group of the sections being replaceably securedinto said cavity, and the other group of complemental matrix rings beingreplaceably mounted on the plate, a tread design die member `constructedon arcuate complemental segmental sections being secured to therespective matrix sections; and means to fasten the mold plate onto saidbody so as to introducer the plate in the said cavity to any selecteddepth7 the segments of said die member having coacting beveled ends.

12. The combination with a vulcanizer machine including a heatedstationary body having a cavity therein, a movable mold plateoperatively related to said cavity, and a matrix and a tread design diemember secured into said cavity and to said plate, of bead rings formedin segments fitting over the inner periphery of the tire casing to betreaded, the segments of the bead rings being formed in splitoverlapping rim sections, whereby the width of the ring is adjustable.

13. The combination with a vulcanizer machine including a heatedstationary body having a cavity therein, a movable mold plateoperatively related to said cavity, and a matrix and a tread design diemember secured into said cavity and to said plate, oir' a pair of platesone on eachv side of the tire casing having angular overlapping portionsto form dies for the beads and to .form an adjustable supporting rim forthe casing.

14; The combination with a vulcanizer machine including a heatedstationary body having a cavity therein, a movable mold plateoperatively related to said cavity, a matrix and a treaddesign diemember secured intoY said cavity and to said plate, of a'pair ofV platesone on each side of the tire casinghaviso Y f ing angular overlappingportions te form dies for the beads and t form an adjustable supportingrim for the casing, a recess inv each of said plates, and a size markingdie removably secured in each recess to impress selected size indicatingnumerals on the sides of the tire.

KARL K. A. THORSEN.

DISCLAIMER 1,903,538.-Kar1 K. A. Thorse'a, San Francisco, Calif. TIREVULCANIZING MACHINE. Patent dated April 11, 1938. Disclaimer iledDecember 19, 1942, by the assignee, Mildred E. Bacon. Hereby enters thisdisclaimer to claim 9 in said specification.

[Oficial Gazette January 1.9, 1943.]

